Shocking video stokes controversy

A videotaped diatribe by the Virginia Tech gunman shocked victims' families and mesmerised television viewers, but police said yesterday it yielded little for their investigation of the campus massacre.

Still grieving, students at the university expressed disgust at self-made photos and a disturbing video the killer mailed to NBC News on Monday when he paused during the deadliest shooting rampage in modern US history.

Police handling the investigation criticized the airing from Wednesday evening of the images and rants by Cho Seung-Hui, who killed 32 people and then himself at the sprawling campus in south-western Virginia. State police chief Colonel Steve Flaherty said victims' families and the university community had been badly struck not only by the tragedy but by the intense media attention surrounding it.

Cho's video manifesto of him brandishing guns and ranting at times incoherently drew wall-to-wall US news coverage.

"The world has endured a view of life that few of us would or should ever have to endure," Col Flaherty told a news conference. "I'm sorry you all were exposed to these images." Campus authorities have also faced questions after it emerged that they had become aware of Cho's troubled mental state 17 months before he went on his killing spree.

With Cho's imbalance displayed in his video manifesto, families of victims were so upset at NBC's decision to air the images that they cancelled appearances on the network. NBC insisted it acted responsibly. But the network and its rivals, ABC, CBS and Fox, said they would limit future use.

"Once you've seen it, its repetition is little more than pornography once that first news cycle is passed," said Jeffrey Schneider, ABC News senior vice president.